Matt Brown
Guest
Early Vegas lines have Ohio State football a favorite over Michigan, underdog against Oklahoma
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
If the oddsmakers in Vegas are correct, Ohio State will have a very stiff test early in the season.
We're still a long way from the start of the season, but that doesn't mean Vegas hasn't started thinking about who it likes in the biggest games of the year. Per the South Point Hotel, Ohio State is in an unfamiliar place for their early season matchup against Oklahoma. They're listed as underdogs.
South Point Hotel CFB lines: Pitt -9 PSU; ND -6 MSU; OU -9 OhSt; Neb -2 Ore; OU -14 Tx; Ark -1.5 A&M; Bama -3.5 UT; Clem -1 FSU; OSU -6.5 UM
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) May 16, 2016
Ohio State isn't used to being listed as an underdog, and certainly not a nine-point underdog. But if you think about it, that line doesn't seem that unreasonable. The game is at Oklahoma, and the Sooners return their quarterback and many key contributors from a team that won the Big 12 and made the playoff last season. Ohio State, on the other hand, returns J.T. Barrett, but must replace key contributors at nearly every position group.
Needing to replace all of that talent isn't enough to make South Point take Michigan over the Buckeyes, though. The Wolverines might be getting a lot of preseason love, but they're listed as 6.5-point dogs to Ohio State for their showdown in Columbus.
ESPN's FPI doesn't think very highly of Ohio State's chances to upset Oklahoma, giving them only a 19% chance at a win. They see the Michigan game as more of a tossup, giving the Buckeyes a 51.6% of winning.
If Ohio State is looking for some bulletin board material for their long slog of an offseason, they need not look very far.
Continue reading...
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
If the oddsmakers in Vegas are correct, Ohio State will have a very stiff test early in the season.
We're still a long way from the start of the season, but that doesn't mean Vegas hasn't started thinking about who it likes in the biggest games of the year. Per the South Point Hotel, Ohio State is in an unfamiliar place for their early season matchup against Oklahoma. They're listed as underdogs.
South Point Hotel CFB lines: Pitt -9 PSU; ND -6 MSU; OU -9 OhSt; Neb -2 Ore; OU -14 Tx; Ark -1.5 A&M; Bama -3.5 UT; Clem -1 FSU; OSU -6.5 UM
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) May 16, 2016
Ohio State isn't used to being listed as an underdog, and certainly not a nine-point underdog. But if you think about it, that line doesn't seem that unreasonable. The game is at Oklahoma, and the Sooners return their quarterback and many key contributors from a team that won the Big 12 and made the playoff last season. Ohio State, on the other hand, returns J.T. Barrett, but must replace key contributors at nearly every position group.
Needing to replace all of that talent isn't enough to make South Point take Michigan over the Buckeyes, though. The Wolverines might be getting a lot of preseason love, but they're listed as 6.5-point dogs to Ohio State for their showdown in Columbus.
ESPN's FPI doesn't think very highly of Ohio State's chances to upset Oklahoma, giving them only a 19% chance at a win. They see the Michigan game as more of a tossup, giving the Buckeyes a 51.6% of winning.
If Ohio State is looking for some bulletin board material for their long slog of an offseason, they need not look very far.
Continue reading...